Conventionally, an enterprise has had a function that integrally manages a company design information system. When each business department independently registers design/manufacturing information relating to the hardware and firmware of a product into a server, this design/manufacturing information can be provided to users beyond the fence of the business department.
When an information-retrieving user wants to retrieve necessary design information, the user searches this information based on one of the following methods. The user (1) utilizes an URL list table that shows servers and business departments in which the necessary design/manufacturing information are stored. The user (2) searches the information by following the link. The user (3) searches the information in a homepage of a likely business department. The user (4) uses a retrieval tool provided by the homepage of each business department.
However, there are a great variety of servers of design functions and manufacturing functions that are to be searched. Further, there are alterations, deletions and additions of URLs in respective servers for the sake of convenience of the function of managing each server. Therefore, it has not always been possible for the information-retrieving users to catch this information.
Furthermore, there are a variety of data formats and file formats of information that are registered in each server. Therefore, the information-retrieving users have not been able to understand who has registered what information and when such information has been registered, at all. Moreover, in many cases, the information-retrieving users suddenly want to obtain design/manufacturing information. Therefore, it is not efficient to ask the information-retrieving users to understand the location of this information.